Recent News

2016 Endorsements: How and Why They Matter

William “Boss” Tweed captured the importance of the nominating process when he said that he didn’t care who did the electing, as long as he got to do the nominating. The choice of nominee can determine the future course and fortune of a party — such as whether it tilts right or left — and the likelihood of victory. No wonder the political scientist Nelson Polsby described nominating candidates as the central purpose of a political party.

Crowded Field of Dreams

Some 20 minutes after an appearance at the Family Leadership Summit in Ames, Iowa, that would dominate the news in the coming days, Donald Trump walked into the industrial-looking basement area designated for press conferences, surrounded by tough-looking men in slick business suits, ostensibly there to provide security but whose real role, one suspects, was to make the man they were following feel important. A wooden podium faced nearly a dozen television cameras and twice as many journalists, all arrayed in a semicircle about 10 feet away.

Candidates Scramble to Make Republican Debates

The first Republican debate will be held on Aug. 6 in Cleveland. Because only the top 10 candidates according to national polls will be on stage, six candidates and possibly seven (if Jim Gilmore enters the race by that date) will likely miss the cutoff. (“Likely” because in the event of a tie for 10th place, the tied candidates will be allowed on stage.)

Politico has an interesting article on several of the candidates who could be excluded from the first ... Read More >>

Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum made some campaign stops Friday in New Hampshire, but he said he may be more focused on winning Iowa.

The Second-Tier GOP Debate May Be the One to Watch

Fox News delivered yet another blow to the presidential hopes of those Republican candidates polling relatively poorly ahead of the first televised presidential debate. Those six candidates who do not make the top 10 in the most recent national surveys will fail to qualify for the prime time debate.

Santorum reboots after slow fundraising start

Rick Santorum has so far struggled with fundraising in his second run for the White House — but the finance committee he will roll out later Tuesday is aiming to change that.

2016 Iowa caucuses: Did Trump implode, has Jindal arrived?

2016 Iowa caucuses: Did Trump implode, has Jindal arrived?

The biggest pre-election event prior to the 2016 Iowa caucuses, the just-concluded Family Leadership Summit, has come and gone.